


Under the Thorns

by keithyourpal



Series: sheith big bang 'verse [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Gender/Sexuality, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bath Houses, Breeding, Clone Sex, Galra Keith (Voltron), M/M, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Unplanned Pregnancy, horny version of the s6ep5 fight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-06-11 09:02:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15312075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keithyourpal/pseuds/keithyourpal
Summary: After learning that he's part Galra and an omega, Keith is delegated by the Blade of Marmora to help them establish trust with a nursery of Empire refugees and their pups, where Shiro is reunited with a companion from his days as the Champion.When he disappears in the next fight against Zarkon, only to suddenly return eight months later with no memory of what happened, Keith comforts him the only way he knows how.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Like all my fics, this is something I've been working on for aaaages. It's just taken a long time to come together (this was supposed to be my sheith big bang piece in 2017...whoops).
> 
> In this 'verse, only the Galra and Shiro have abo dynamics.

  


“The only way this is possible is if Galra blood runs through your veins.”

Kolivan’s words felt like lead. Battered and broken from the Trials, Keith could hardly make sense of what was real and what was not.

“Wh-what?” he said, and it was all he could say as he looked down at his knife. The newly transformed blade reflected the cuts and bruises on his face, the puffy bags under his eyes. The new jagged angle was cruel, reminding him of the countless fights he only just escaped from, the fresh cut on his shoulder. This was--impossible.

Keith couldn’t have gone his whole life and never noticed that he was _part alien_. He looked human, he felt human, he would have noticed if something was different--wrong--about him. Images of his father sprang to mind, in place of his mother. His mother, who left him before he was old enough to remember her face, her voice. Was this why Dad never talked about her, or where she went, or whether she was even alive or dead? 

He thought of Ulaz. When he recognized the Galra’s blade as being similar, he had thought that perhaps . . . but that was only an excuse. He knew what his first thought was when he saw Ulaz’s blade, and he had been too afraid to accept it, desperately searching for a different answer, something to prove his fears wrong. 

What would the team think? What would--?

His panic increased when Shiro slowly turned to face him. The druidic energy that flared in his hand powered down. He had thrown himself between Keith and Antok without a moment’s hesitation, even after learning Keith kept the knife a secret from him. But would he be able to forgive this? 

Keith felt his hand as he clapped it on his shoulder. He flinched, looking up to see Shiro’s anger was directed not at him but at Kolivan and the dozen or so Blades gathering behind him.

“You knew,” Shiro said in a low, dark tone. “You knew he wouldn’t be able to succeed if he wasn’t Galra. Why did you make him go through with the trial?”

“I knew that if that blade truly belonged to him, as he claimed, then there was a possibility he could awaken it.” Kolivan’s yellow eyes narrowed to slits. “And I see now that his claim--his heritage--was true. As that is the case, the Blade of Marmora will accept Voltron’s offer of an alliance.”

Keith felt Shiro’s hand tremble from suppressed anger. He placed his own hand on top of it, squeezing Shiro’s fingers.

“We,” he said, pausing as his voice came out small and weak, “we accept.” 

Shiro said nothing. His grip on Keith’s shoulder didn’t let up. Keith was simply too tired to press the issue. The whole reason they even braved the twin black holes to come to the base was for this alliance and now it was the farthest concern on his mind. 

He tried to remind himself it was necessary for the greater good. And after Shiro had worked so hard to track Ulaz down, to get the rest of the team to trust him, Keith didn't want him to give all that up just because of this. Because of him.

A sharp sensation pushed through his mind. He felt the Red Lion’s burning concern, saw a brief flash of what she saw: the asteroid and its half-demolished facilities under her giant metallic paws. That certainly explained the wreckage inside.

 _You did this? For me?_ he thought. A soft purr sounded through his mind.

Kolivan made a sharp gesture, and the other Blades split off in all directions. “While my men repair the base, I would meet with Princess Allura. We have an urgent matter to discuss.”

Shiro asked Keith quietly, “Can you walk?”

 _Yes_ , Keith thought. _No_ , his body screamed. He leaned against Shiro and tried not to hiss at the pain in his right shoulder.

“I'll help you to Red. Keith, none of this changes anything,” Shiro said in that same gentle voice. He looped Keith’s arm over his shoulders as he had before. Keith hobbled along after Shiro’s patient lead, at once grateful for and scared of his support. 

This was simply too big for them to pretend that it didn't matter, and he was too rattled and exhausted from the hours of endless fighting to really say why. He wouldn't be able to explain himself even if Shiro asked.

“Keith, was it?” Kolivan said as they reached the elevator. “You and I have important matters to discuss as well.”

“Like what?” Keith asked wearily, more annoyed than he was curious. “Unless you wanna answer my questions from earlier, I really don’t want to hear it.”

“You need to know. However, it can wait until after I speak with Princess Allura.” 

The elevator ride was shaky from the damage Red caused the base. The lights flashing by made Keith sick. He pressed his face into the side of Shiro’s arm, trying to shield himself. His body heat was comforting, even his smell. This was not the same Shiro who left him during the Trials.

“I missed you,” he blurted out.

The hand at the small of his back rubbed him in response. Shiro said nothing; he didn’t have to.

When the elevator came to a halt the guards posted outside stood at attention. “I’m going alone,” Kolivan said when they made to fall in line. “Stay here.”

It was a tight squeeze in Red’s cockpit. Keith had difficulty focusing on her controls. Shiro stayed beside him, on alert. Kolivan refused when Shiro offered to show him to the cabin. Keith wished he would go. There was something unsettling about the way he smelled, as odd as it was to think; he didn’t smell bad, he just smelled wrong.

The ride out from the base was thankfully uneventful. Shiro messaged Allura as they approached the hangar, and Keith could see the rest of the team huddled in the background of her video feed. Once Red was safely landed Keith’s hands fell from the controls, the last of his energy truly spent.

“We’ll get you to a healing pod,” Shiro said as he helped Keith walk down the ramp to the hangar and to the lift up to the bridge, where Allura and the other paladins were waiting.

As Kolivan introduced himself to Allura and explained the Blade’s movements, Keith wished he could walk on his own. He didn’t want to be the one to tell the team what he knew. How could he, when he had barely had time to come to terms with the fact himself?

After speaking to Allura Kolivan looked to him expectantly. When Keith remained silent he blinked once, slow and deliberate. “While at our base, Keith underwent the Trials of Marmora. Show them.”

Arm shaking, Keith held out his blade.

“That’s luxite!” Coran gasped. “Why, I haven’t seen luxite since before Princess Allura was born! By Grogory, how did the Blade of Marmora manage to get hold of it?”

“It looks like Ulaz’s sword,” Hunk said, reaching out a cautious finger to poke it and jumping back when, in a flash of light, the blade retracted, returning to the small reliable knife Keith had always known it to be.

“It is the customary blade given to those who undertake the Trials and succeed,” Kolivan informed them. “It transforms only once its wielder awakens to its true potential.”

“So that used to be that dinky little knife you had?” Lance asked.

“Amazing,” Pidge said, awed.

“That’s a Galra sword.”

The cautious hope that had welled up in Keith at the team’s reaction was promptly snuffed out. He tucked his blade back into its sheath. Allura glared at him like he was a stranger, like he was an _enemy_.

“Yes, Princess. We are a Galra organization,” Kolivan said, too dry to tell if he was being sarcastic.

“Luxite is a metal that was contaminated by quintessence,” Allura continued angrily. “By the Empire. Only Galra can manipulate it like that.”

Finally her eyes met Keith’s, and her anger only grew stronger. “You’re _Galra_?”

“I didn’t know--”

“A _Galra_ has been piloting the Red Lion?” she spat.

“Princess,” Coran cut in, reaching out to her. She slapped his hand away. The sound was loud and harsh in the hush that had fallen through the bridge, and seemed to jolt her. She blinked rapidly, inhaling a long steady breath. Her footsteps were short and fast as she left the bridge.

“Please forgive her,” Coran said, tucking his hand behind his back. “You must understand, this is quite a shock for her.”

“You think it isn’t for me?” Keith snapped. “I didn’t know either!”

“Give her time. She’ll come around, I promise.”

“We do not have time,” Kolivan said. “Like it or not, the Blade is comprised of Galra. But we are working _against_ the Empire, and we require Voltron’s help. Princess Allura must realize that if the mission is to succeed.”

For the first time since Keith met him, Coran looked angry, if only for a moment before he pinched one half of his mustache and stroked it slowly. Keith could understand how he and Allura must feel, working alongside the same people who’d destroyed their planet, killed their king, Allura’s _father_.

And at the same time he was pissed, because he couldn’t control how he was born. He was from Earth, his father was human, and six months ago he hadn’t had anything to do with this war. None of this was his fault.

Keith wanted to scream it, because now Pidge and Hunk and Lance were looking at him the same way Allura had, like he was a freak, like they didn’t think he could possibly be as confused as they were. He didn’t know how he might have lashed out if Shiro hadn’t taken his hand.

They didn’t speak as they looked at each other. His touch was comforting. “You need to rest,” he said. “Coran, can you help me get a pod up and running?”

“Of course,” Coran said. He patted Keith’s good shoulder and briskly set off, leading the way.  


\-----  


  
Keith knew something was wrong as soon as he stepped out of the healing pod. He had known Shiro long enough to tell whenever he was worried about something, and especially when he tried to hide it.

“It’s only been ten hours,” Shiro said, holding out a hand for support. Even though all of Keith’s aches and pains were gone his legs still felt weak. “Coran said everything except the gash on your shoulder would be completely healed. You’ll have a scar there now.”

“Could be worse,” Keith said as he let Shiro help steady him, not sure what else he could say. Because a little scratch could never compare to what he knew the war had already done to Shiro.

Shiro’s mouth tightened. “What Kolivan did . . . I tried to stop him, Keith. I’m sorry I couldn’t.”

“Shiro, I _wanted_ to go through the Trials,” Keith said, pushing away. He began stripping out of the healing suit, shivering at the residual chill in his skin. Before putting on his normal clothes, he ran a finger along his right collarbone, feeling the raw scar there. “I don’t regret it.”

Even though the only thing he learned about his past was hard to accept, it still helped to know the truth, albeit a small part of it. He dressed quickly; it had been a few weeks since he and Shiro were stranded on that planet together, since they’d had sex ( _wild, crazy, I can’t believe we’re alive sex_ as he’d put it), and that was a line he and Shiro never crossed at the Garrison. 

He didn’t know how to feel at ease being naked in front of him now, not with the memory of being fucked so hard he’d had to be put in a healing pod then, too.

“I know, it’s just . . . watching them hurt you like that, and not being able to do anything . . .” Shiro’s right fist clenched. “And what that hologram of me said to you--”

“You _saw_ that?” Keith drew back sharply, catching halfway into his shirt.

The image of Shiro turning his back on him--calling him selfish, telling him to give up--was raw and unsettling. At the time Keith had been distraught, terrified, ashamed. 

After, when he was given a chance to rest and think on it, he figured it was a delusion or hallucination from the stress and pain, because he knew Shiro would never say those things to him. 

But it never occurred to him that it was real, that Shiro might have been witness to it.

“Kolivan said that it was a manifestation of your hopes . . . and your fears.”

“Shiro, I--”

“We’ll talk about it,” Shiro said. “Later. I promise. But right now you need to eat and get your strength back. There’s a lot of work we have to do. Some more Blades are coming to the ship in the morning so we can discuss their plan to take down Zarkon.”

Hunk had left a plate piled with food for Keith in the dining hall. Just looking at it he had no appetite. He forced himself to eat a few bites anyway, if only to fill the silence as Shiro watched him.

“Where’s Kolivan?” he asked, scraping up some lumps that had the texture of cardboard onto his spoon. There were some things not even Hunk could make palatable, especially when things were so hectic that he didn’t have time to gather supplies.

“On the bridge with Coran and Allura.”

“I bet Allura’s thrilled,” Keith said darkly.

“I know it hurts, Keith.”

Keith pushed his plate away, unable to eat anymore. Without missing a beat Shiro took the plate and ate what was left, leaving the plate spotless.

Well, at least some things hadn’t changed.

“. . . I’m sorry . . . I didn’t tell you,” Keith said haltingly, fiddling with one of his gloves. He was never comfortable talking about his feelings, as much as the counselor at the Garrison got him to try. Even with Shiro. Especially with Shiro. 

Keeping quiet about the knife, and about his suspicions after meeting Ulaz, had only made things harder than they needed to be, and he resolved to try now. “About the knife, I mean. I wasn’t trying to keep secrets from you, I just . . .”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Keith,” Shiro said. “I understand.”

Did he really? Keith was afraid to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

  


Over the next few weeks things progressed well, with a few bumps along the way. With the scaltrite in hand and Slav on their side, all that was left to do was wait for the Olkarions to finish building the teludav, which left them with almost a week of downtime.

Keith had never been good at waiting. After spending a few hours tossing and turning, hegave up on trying to sleep and went to the training deck. With Sendak’s corrupted crystal gone, he slowly learned to trust the Gladiator again, and spent a few levels taking out his frustration. He was too unfocused to make much progress. Every time he tried to strike, in his mind his bayard was replaced by the Galra blade, and every time the Gladiator managed to knock him across the deck.

“End training sequence,” he groaned into the floor. The Gladiator’s metallic feet halted just in front of him and turned around. When he sat up, it was gone, leaving him alone in the deck for just a second before the door hissed opened.

“Keith,” he heard Shiro say in surprise, “what are you doing up so early?”

“Getting my ass kicked.” Keith stood and half-heartedly stretched. He didn’t even have to ask what Shiro was doing. Shiro was a late to bed, early to rise type of guy. Always had been. “Gonna shower.”

The deck’s huge communal shower felt empty even when the entire team was here after workouts. By himself it was almost creepy, endlessly white and with the noise from his showerhead bouncing around. He pushed his hair back and felt the sting as the water hit his scar.

Shiro was doing pushups when he finished. He slung the towel around his neck and watched for a while. The Galra prosthetic was so powerful that Shiro could probably give up his ungodly workout routine and still be capable of punching out a dozen sentries without breaking a sweat, but here he was, sweating it out like always. Keith loved that about him.

He had always loved Shiro, always, and yet life was so different since coming to space that he wasn’t sure what exactly to do about it. Things had been mostly chaste at the Garrison, and going from zero to fucking in the Black Lion was a sudden change to try to adjust to after the fact.

Shiro finished his last set and flopped over on his back, puffing a bit. The outline of his muscles was quite visible through his tank top, a sight that had caused more than one tizzy at the Garrison. Noticing Keith watching, he sat up. “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

Shiro patted the spot beside him. Hesitantly Keith joined him.

“I’ve been thinking,” Shiro said after a while, when neither of them made the first move to speak. “I wasn’t trying to brush you off earlier. If you want to talk to me, I’ll listen. I just want you to know that you don’t have to be afraid that I’ll leave you, no matter what happens.”

“The hologram bothered you, huh?”

“Yes,” Shiro said quietly. “Keith, if I’ve ever done anything to make you think I’d give up on you, for any reason, then I’m sorry.”

“You haven’t! It’s just--I just worry, even when I know there’s nothing to worry about. You haven’t done anything. I promise.” Keith pulled the towel off his shoulders and ruffled it through his hair again, afraid of what his face looked like. “I just . . . my dad never told me anything about Mom. What she was like, where she went...why she left. After we met Ulaz I didn’t know what to think. It scared me. I didn’t even know my knife was hers until the Trials.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had a vision of my dad. He told me she gave it to him.” Keith swallowed, feeling a lump rise in his throat. “He wanted to tell me more but I couldn't stay. The Galra were attacking Earth--in my dream, I mean. You--the team needed me.”

Now he understood that the attack was Red trying to fight through the base to get to him. It still made him wonder if the vision of his dad could have explained more about his mom, or if he made the entire thing up out of delirium.

A part of him still felt a sort of twisted grief for what he would never learn now about his mother, yet he was proud that he didn’t regret his choice.

Shiro’s voice was faint. “You gave that up for the team?”

“Well . . . yeah. I’m a paladin.”

They sat quietly. It felt good to get things off his chest. All the anxiety that had been festering ever since meeting Ulaz was gone. The physical wounds from the Trials still hurt, of course, but he had always known they could be healed. This relief inside was different.

“Well, uh,” he said, “I’ll let you get cleaned up.”

Shiro’s hand cupped his cheek, turning his head so they were looking each other in the eyes. Keith blinked, his mouth open in surprise as Shiro leaned in close.

Allura’s voice over the comm startled them both. “Paladins, please assemble.”

“Better luck next time,” Keith said, laughing in spite of the way his heart was racing when Shiro scowled. He waited as Shiro took a speed shower and they hurried off to the bridge together, still in their workout clothes.

They were the last to arrive and consequently had to endure the team and the Blade’s combined silent admonishment. There were eight more Galra with Kolivan, Antok among them. Keith followed Shiro and made sure he was as far away from them as possible.

Allura pursed her lips. “Now that everyone is here . . .” She pulled up a holomap of the planet the ship was heading toward and gestured to Kolivan stiffly, stepping aside as he joined her at the console.

Kolivan zoomed in on a mountainous area on the map, his hands large and unsure on the delicate holographic image. “This planet hosts a variety of rebel colonies, one of which is for Galra refugees.”

He changed from a topographical view of the mountains to a photo of a base that looked long abandoned. Plantlife was overgrown through its structure and it was certainly easy to miss unless you were actively seeking it out. “It acts as a sort of nursery for omegas and their pups who we have helped escape the Empire, but they have always been hesitant to accept our full protection.”

Hunk and Lance squealed as Kolivan then pulled up images of said pups. Keith never thought that Galra could ever be so small or look so vulnerable. He felt something stir within him as he took in the sight. 

They were tiny and cute and some of them were criminally fluffy, yes, but more importantly they were in _need_ , and the thought of them being in danger caused a blinding flash of rage to take over.

“We had hoped that perhaps having Voltron on our side would improve our relations,” Kolivan continued, “but I’m afraid that has just made them even more cautious in accepting more of our aid.”

“Why?” Lance said, clearly affronted at the thought that any baby Galra would be scared of them. “We’re _Voltron_. The coolest weapon in the universe. The biggest!”

Hunk countered, “Yeah, well, all that does is make us a giant rainbow target for the Galra’s heaviest hitting weapons, like their Robeasts and their freaky druid magic.” He shuddered. “Joining us would put them right in the middle of that. No surprise they’d want to stay out of the way.”

“What I want to know is--what are omegas?” Pidge piped up. “Is that code for something?”

Kolivan looked to the other Blade members, their masked faces making it impossible to discern any response they may have shown, then to Coran and Allura, evidently at a loss at how to explain himself. They firmly shook their heads in unison; there was a noticeable blush on Coran ’s cheeks. With no volunteers, Kolivan faced Pidge again. “An omega . . . . is an omega,” he said slowly.

“Yeah, which means . . . ?” she asked impatiently. “Is it, like, a rank? A job?”

“It is just what some of us are,” Kolivan said. “For example, Keith is an omega.”

“Oh, well _that_ clears everything up,” Lance said, rolling his eyes.

Keith bristled. “Cut the crap. Tell me what that means.”

“It is simply a difference in biology.”

“Biology?” he repeated hotly. Shiro set a hand on his shoulder, calming and cautionary in equal measure. Keith felt his jaw continue to tense but did nothing else except cross his arms.

“What matters at the present is gaining the nursery’s trust.” Kolivan turned his attention back to the console. “Given that they are predominantly omegas and the Blade is predominantly alphas, it would be out of line for us to simply force our help onto them. Therefore, I think our best course of action would be for Keith and Shiro to go together. As a mated pair--”

“A whatted WHAT?” Lance exclaimed.

“I knew it,” Allura said. The perpetual frown she’d had for the past week whenever she looked at Keith only deepened. Beside her Coran tugged at the side of his mustache, coughing politely.

“Wait, so . . . so when you were stranded together after we fought Zarkon, you--” Lance struggled to finish his thought, then made a noise like a balloon losing air as he pointed an accusing finger at Keith. “--you guys _boned_?”

“Kolivan,” Shiro said tersely, fixating the Galra leader in a hard stare. “A word. Outside. Now.”

  


\-----

  


One of the rare occurrences that made the Garrison more welcoming for Keith, back when he was first enrolled and struggling to adjust, was watching when Shiro’s composure finally reached its limit and he went ham on somebody’s ass.

In the hall, Shiro did not disappoint.

“What the hell happened to ‘secrecy and trust’?” he demanded angrily, cornering the Marmora leader against the wall. Keith tried to remain mad at Kolivan and not aroused at watching Shiro chew out an alien man almost twice his size. Shiro’s tank top was not helping. “Does that only matter when it’s convenient for you?”

Kolivan held up his hands as best he could with the angry paladin in his space. “Forgive me, Shiro. I was making an observation.”

“I don’t know how it is for the Blade of Marmora,” Shiro pushed on, “but on this team we don’t make our _sex lives_ a point of discussion at strategy meetings.”

“It was impolite of me. I am sorry.” Kolivan’s ears flattened down on his head. “It truly did not occur to me that the rest of your team would not be aware of your and Keith’s partnership.”

Keith did _not_ want to think about what that was supposed to mean. Apparently, neither did Shiro.

“Well,” he said, and took in a strained breath as he visibly struggled to rein himself back into how a reasonable leader would act, “well . . . what’s done is done. Since it’s out in the open, if our relationship will help, then tell me how.”

“Given the matter at hand, you and Keith are our best hope at convincing the nursery that we only have their best interests in mind. You will need to show them that.”

Kolivan dipped his head, nodding toward Keith. “Before the Empire was formed, we valued the bond between a mated pair. To have a Galra, and an omega at that, be one of the new paladins of Voltron is no small thing.”

“Alright,” Shiro said, then jabbed a finger in Kolivan’s chest again just as he began to relax. “But before we do anything, you’re going to tell Keith whatever it is you said you needed to discuss with him.”

“Yes, I know,” Kolivan replied. “I intended to tell him everything he needs to know about Galran biology. Including what it means to be an omega.”

“I really wish you’d done that _before_ announcing it to the entire team,” Keith muttered.

“My apologies,” Kolivan said. Again his voice was so dry that Keith almost missed the hint of vindictiveness in his tone. “Come with me, Keith. I will rectify my mistake at once.”

  


\-----

  


As it turned out, Kolivan essentially wanted to give Keith the Galra version of The Talk.

He sat Keith down in one of the Castle’s study rooms and dug through its archives until he found the particular video he wanted, which was about the Galran equivalent of puberty, complete with patronizing graphics and an offensively cheery background track.

“Oh no,” Keith said.

“This would normally have been explained to you as a pup,” Kolivan said as he settled himself beside Keith, who was desperately regretting the part he played in bringing himself here. “I imagine humans have a similar custom.”

“Yeah, like, my foster mom made my foster dad tell me about the birds and the bees one time and it didn’t go so great.” Keith hadn’t had the most thorough sex education, until being stranded. Forcing himself to think positive, maybe he could see this as a chance to have the more conventional education he missed out on as a kid.

They had been allied with the Blade of Marmora for not even a full day, and Keith’s first impression of the Galra leader hadn't changed. Kolivan was serious and no-nonsense, an attitude that would maybe make this whole sex talk more bearable than the one with his stepfather, who hadn’t wanted to talk about it any more than Keith did, had gone. 

“This video series was part of an initiative to help spread education to all young Galra, regardless of class. It has been a mainstay for millennia,” Kolivan said. A cinematic masterpiece, apparently. Just Keith's luck.

When the video began to demonstrate the physical differences between alphas, betas, and omegas, Keith tried to punch the holographic display.

“This is important,” Kolivan said, dragging him back down to his seat with one effortless yank. “You need to understand your Galra heritage.”

“ _Turn it off_!”

Keith sat frozen in horror as the video detailed exactly what being an omega entailed, everything about going into heat and being able to give birth, what it meant to be mated, what a claiming mark was.

A solid minute passed after the segment on omegas ended before he could get his mouth working. The juvenile sense of embarrassment about being educated on the topic of sexuality and reproduction was long gone. As the video had continued, Keith realized with a different kind of growing horror that everything--the heat, the claiming mark--were things that already happened to him.

“Kolivan,” he said, his voice coming out unnaturally high pitched. “How did you know Shiro and I are--that we’re ‘mated’?”

“I could tell by your scents,” Kolivan said matter-of-factly. “You can determine a lot of information by another Galra’s scent: their mood, their designation, whether they are bonded, and to whom.”

He touched the back of Keith’s neck, and a physical sensation like a crackle of electricity shot through him. Keith tried to jerk away only to be held in place by another large hand on his shoulder as Kolivan parted his long hair and touched his neck again. “Yes, you have a scar from a mating claim here. When did this happen, if I may ask?”

“I guess about a month ago,” Keith said. “We . . . right after we rescued Allura from Zarkon’s headquarters. He disrupted the wormhole and Shiro and I were stranded together. I think I . . . I think I went into heat.”

It was such a strange, unfamiliar thing to say.

“That never happened to me before, I mean,” he broke into a fit of nervous laughter, “I think I’d remember if I had gunk leaking out of my _ass_ before. God!”

“It is quite natural. But then, you are only part Galra,” Kolivan said thoughtfully, letting go of his shoulder and hair. “Many members of the Blade of Marmora are only part Galra, and their designations are always affected in unique ways. Sometimes they present much later than usual, sometimes not at all. And extreme stress can trigger a false heat in omegas. The purpose then is not breeding, but to find shelter and safety.”

“Don’t ever say ‘breeding’ ever again. Please. Ever.”

“What interests me,” Kolivan went on, ignoring him, “is Shiro. Zarkon’s inner court has been the hardest part of the Empire to infiltrate, and our intel on what Haggar and her druids work on is very limited. That she’s discovered a way to change non-Galra into Galra designations is worrisome indeed.”

He returned to the menu and selected another segment. “If that’s the case, watching the lesson on alphas will be especially relevant to your needs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kolivan is the embarrassing galra dad keith absolutely does not want but gets anyway
> 
> thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

That night, after tossing and turning endlessly until his shoulders began to ache, Keith gave up on trying to to sleep. He felt around under his pillow until his hand closed around his mother’s knife. Unwrapping it, he ran his thumb over the glowing engraved mark on the crossguard, which he now knew was the symbol for the Blade of Marmora.

When he first found the knife as a child, shut away in a drawer in his father’s workshed, he didn’t know what to make of the symbol or the low, pulsating light the glyph gave off. Nor did he know what to make of his father’s reaction when he came in and saw Keith handling the unsheathed blade. Keith knew not to play with his father’s tools, how dangerous it was to go in the shed alone, and was prepared to get in trouble if he got caught.

Rather than scold him as Keith expected, his father took the blade and said, “Keith, I . . .” in a soft, uncertain voice. Then he wound its wrappings back on, as if hesitating to put it away. When he did shut it back in its drawer, then locked it pointedly, Keith thought that now his inevitable lecture would begin, and was confused when none came. His father only scooped him up in his strong arms and carried him back to the house

Keith only found the knife because he felt it calling to him from inside the drawer, niggling in the back of his mind like static interference on the radio. Even after his father locked it up he would return to the locked shed at night sometimes, pressing his cheek against the window so he could be as close as possible to feel the weak pulse of its energy.

A burst of light filled his room as the blade transformed, growing into its new wicked form, completely unlike the small harmless knife he’d found as a child. So this was his mother’s heritage--to be an evil, reviled thing wielding a weapon just as cruel and fearsome.

The knife withdrew into its small form. Keith pushed it back under his pillow and left his room for the training deck.

\-----

Hours later, he met Shiro and Kolivan in the hangar for the Altean pods, dragging his feet and trying to ignore the pounding ache in his muscles and head. A long scalding shower had done little to improve his mood, which he blamed, among other things, on Kolivan’s stupid educational videos. The obnoxious end credits jingle was still stuck in his head, and no amount of crack-of-dawn drills with the Gladiator helped make it go away.

“There you are,” Shiro said once Keith joined them by the pod, his armor sparkling from a fresh polish. Making himself presentable for the nursery had slipped Keith’s mind, what with all the suddenly finding out he was part Galra and could get pregnant and everything. “Kolivan was just about to give me a rundown of what to expect.”

“You will meet with the nursery’s leader, Golev. Let Keith do most of the talking.” Kolivan nodded to Shiro. “You may not be Galra by birth, Shiro, yet whatever experiments the druids have conducted on you have effectively made you one of us, and an alpha at that.”

He held out a small data drive for Shiro to take, then continued, “There are few other alphas at the nursery. Most of its members are unmated betas and omegas who have fled the Empire, so there are many areas only Keith will be able to go.”

“By myself?” Keith said, annoyed. “The last time Shiro and I split up at a Galra base, I got my ass kicked for two days straight.”

Kolivan’s eyes fell on him, and he seemed neither apologetic nor amused. “I do not expect everyone in the nursery to change their minds right away. Even if our plan to take Zarkon down succeeds, and even if you and Golev manage to sway their position, it will still take time to relocate everyone. This is not a quick operation.”

“We understand,” Shiro said. “Keith, you pilot us there.”

Keith took the controls and waited for Shiro to get situated. Kolivan stepped away from the pod, arms held behind his back, as they took flight and headed out toward the planet.

Shiro stuck Kolivan’s data drive into the console and the familiar menu screen from yesterday popped up, complete with the same annoying background music. Keith fought to keep the pod steady as Shiro scrolled through the menu, looking positively baffled.

“What is this?” he asked, switching between video segments. “Did Kolivan show you this?

“Yes,” Keith said through his teeth. “It’s about Galra biology. See if the Alteans put any headphones in this thing.”

“What, like in the glovebox?” Shiro laughed as he hit play on the first video. “I’ll keep the volume down so you can concentrate.”

Even hearing the videos again on low volume almost made it all worse. Keith had to pretend he couldn’t hear the same explanations about Galran biology and anatomy, about how pheromones emitted during a heat or rut could muddle emotions, making alphas feel a way they wouldn’t normally feel about an omega, and vice versa.

Shiro diligently watched through all three videos before ejecting the data drive without comment. They flew in silence for several doboshes, until Shiro said, uncertainly, “Do you remember anything from when we were stranded?”

“A little. Not a lot.” Keith could at least remember how he felt afterward. Not even a stay in the healing pod was enough to make the physical or mental memory of their first time having sex go away, not when it was so rough and desperate. “Don’t worry about that right now. What are we going to do once we meet with Golev?”

Shiro pursed his lips as if to argue, then relented. “I’m not sure. But this will be a good opportunity for you to take the lead.”

“Why do you keep bringing that up?” On top of everything else they needed to worry about right now, he didn’t want to entertain the possibility that something would happen to Shiro. Nothing, not his disease, not Zarkon, would take him away from Keith. Never again.

But Shiro, ever the realist, said quietly, “You know why, Keith.”

\-----

While he landed the pod in a clearing by the base, Keith scanned the tree line to see if he could spot Golev, and saw that almost two dozen Galra had gathered to meet them. Once the pod settled and its cover dematerialized, Keith was able to see how small they were compared to the other Galra they’d met so far.

He judged that only a couple of them came up to Shiro’s height. Most were around Keith’s size. The smallest were clearly children--or pups, as Kolivan put it. As he and Shiro crossed the clearing, four or five of them hid behind the adults’ legs, peeking out with round, golden eyes.

They were adorable, some of them fluffy, some of them more reptilian, all of them a shade of purple or blue. The smallest of them all was just a bundle in one of the adult’s arms, its chubby furry face peeking out from its swaddle, eyes not yet open.

Keith felt Shiro nudge him forward as a Galra with black markings on her chin and dressed in dark blue garb stepped forward from the crowd to address them. “Paladins,” she said. “It is good to meet you. I am Golev.” 

Keith extended an arm and, like Kolivan before her, Golev grasped him by the elbow. Her gaze flicked from him to Shiro, then back again, slow and uncertain.

“Is something wrong?” Keith asked.

Golev’s eyes widened. “I trusted Kolivan when he told me you were part-Galra. It’s still so hard to believe that you are an omega.”

“So I’ve been told,” Keith said, uncomfortable at how many eyes were on him. 

“And you are an alpha,” Golev said to Shiro, not quite a question, still in the same uncertain tone. Her wariness was as physical as the breeze and her tightening grip around Keith’s arm. Sensory information he never noticed while with the other paladins was all around him now, and Keith struggled to interpret it. “May I ask how, when you are not Galra?”

“I was a captive of the Empire,” Shiro said with a smile that made Keith sick. Time and again Shiro had to weaponize the scars the Empire left on him, on the battlefield and in diplomacy. “They must have changed me somehow.”

The news spread through the group with visible effect. Keith saw several ears and tails twitch, and one of the Galra hefted up a curious pup. Then, they seemed to grow more curious about Shiro, as all yellow eyes present fixated upon his arm.

Keith had always felt a sort of unsettling energy resonating from the arm, even when it was not activated. A few of the stares became less curious and more fearful as they evidently recognized it was druidic in origin. Golev, however, was more sympathetic as she took Shiro’s arm next and turned his hand over in her own.

“Ah,” she murmured, running a thumb across the metallic palm, “I see we have much in common.”

She let go of Shiro’s arm. “Please,” she said kindly, “follow me.”

She led them down a path through the forest, walking slowly as the pups raced ahead of her, weaving underfoot, tripping, stumbling, and tumbling their way to the nursery. Shiro chuckled when one grabbed hold of his legs and thoughtlessly lifted her up onto his shoulder.

Even though no one made a sound, Keith felt the disapproval press in around him suddenly, like a weight on his chest. Shiro ruffled the pup’s fuzzy head and set her down, watching her scamper off after the other pups with a tight expression. The uncomfortable feeling lessened, and Keith decided maybe he should give Kolivan’s videos a more careful viewing after all.

After a long walk the forest thinned and Keith could see the high walls of the base. As they drew closer he could see windows and balconies stretching up at least five stories. The nursery was formed in the stone skeleton of an old castle, carved into the mountainside thousands of years ago. Greenery pushed through the cracks in the stone, and it struck Keith how strange it was to see Galra in plain robes and surrounded by plantlife, taking root rather than wandering the universe in conquest.

Maintaining and fortifying the base was beyond their capabilities without outside help, Golev explained, which left them vulnerable if any of the neighboring settlements decided to attack. So far their past few decaphoebs were peaceful though, that peace was gradually waning.

“Before we go further, it is imperative that you bathe,” she said, drawing to a stop just inside the main entrance, where the sunlight filtered in at their backs and a long, wide hall stretched before them. One of the other Galra in the group appeared at Keith’s side, holding out his hands expectantly.

“What?” he said.

“Your armor, please,” the Galra said. “We will keep it safe for you.”

Kolivan didn’t mention anything about giving up their armor. Keith met Shiro’s eyes, only to see that Shiro was patiently waiting for him to make the first move. Figuring if he could fight off the Blade of Marmora that he could fight off anything at this point, Keith slid off his helmet and handed it over, unclasping every defense until he was left standing in the cool hall in only his undersuit. Another Galra took Shiro’s armor pieces, and the two disappeared down an unlit side hallway to their right.

“I don’t like this,” Keith muttered to Shiro as they followed Golev down the main hall.

“Well, if anything happens, Red will have your back. And so do I,” Shiro replied quietly. “I wouldn’t worry, though. Kolivan trusts them.”

“I guess,” Keith said, not feeling particularly keen on Kolivan for the time being. The last time he trusted Kolivan, he got a three hour lecture on the logistics of having a self-lubricating ass.

Shiro’s cold metal fingers touched his wrist, and then slid down to grasp his hand. Keith felt a wave of heat rush up from his chest, burning up his face and scalp. At the Garrison they had an unspoken attraction to each other, and open displays of affection always seemed like a daydream, not a reality that would come about after a giant metal lion brought them to space. The giant metal lions and the being half-alien still didn’t seem as terrifying as letting himself be loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've done enough sad rambling about the vld finale this weekend, so all i can do going forward is try to finish up my fics and remember why i loved this show for as long as i did. also because shiro and keith deserve to have the part-galra baby of my dreams ;3;


End file.
